Casket lift



E. R. GREEN CASKET LIFT Jan. 3, 1956 Filed Aug. 27, 1953 Fig./

INVENTOR. 01222 E arnes-r R. Green BY WW HM United States Patent CASKET LIFT Earnest R. Green, Hampton, Iowa Application August 27, 1953, Serial No. 376,813 1 Claim. (Cl. 254113) This invention relates to a casket lift and more specifically provides for a lift to support a casket in place of the usual church truck.

An object of this invention is to provide a casket lift which is simple in construction, cheap to manufacture. and easy to operate.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel casket lift for raising and holding a casket above a display truck for removing said display truck for use else- Where.

An important object of this invention is to provide a novel casket lift for raising and lowering a casket from a truck or bier which may be easily operated by a single person.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view showing the casket lift of this invention in operative position under each end of a casket which has been lifted from a display truck;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken substantially along section line 22 of Figure 3 showing details of the lift in extended position;

Figure 3 is a side elevation showing details of the lift handle, and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the casket lift showing the details of the pivot arrangement.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, it will be seen that the numeral generally designates a casket having a display or church truck 12 thereunder and as seen in Figure 1 a pair of casket lifts 14 for raising the casket 10 from the truck 12.

Now referring to Figures 2-4, each of the casket lifts has a base member 16, a pair of upstanding members 18 secured to said base member 16 adjacent the mid point of opposite edges. The upstanding members 18 are secured to each other at their top ends by a cross piece 20 and a lug 22 is secured to each of said upstanding members on one edge and adjacent the mid point thereof for a purpose hereinafter described.

Slidably received between said upstanding members 18 is a pair of movable members 24 having a lift bar 26 connecting the upper ends thereof and a brace member 28 connecting the lower ends thereof. Adjacent the lower end of the members 24 are vertically spaced and aligned apertures 24' to pivotally receive a pair of lift arms 30. The elongated lift arms 30 are pivotally connected to the movable members 24 at one end and pivotally connected to a lift handle 32 at the other end thereof. The lift handle 32 is pivotally secured to the lugs 22 on the upstanding member 18. The pivotal connection between the lift handle 32 and the lugs 22 is located in a fixed position while the pivotal connection between the lift handle 22 and the lift arms 30 is movable about the pivotal connection between the lift handle 32 and the lugs 22.

The lift handle 32 raises and lowers the movable mernbers 24 by shifting the lift arms 30 about the pivotal connection between the handle and the lugs 22 and the handle 32 engages the base member 16 after the pivotal connection between the lift arms 30 and handle 32 passes over the pivotal connection between lugs 22 and handle 32.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. The casket 10 is moved to a desired position on a church truck 12 and a pair of casket lifts 14 are placed under the casket l0 and the lift handles 32 are pivoted downwardly thereby raising the lift bar 26 which engages the casket 10 and raises it from the truck 12. The line of vertical force is on the opposite side of the pivotal connection between the handle and lugs then the pivotal connection between the handle and lift arms.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A casket lift comprising a base member having a pair of parallel longitudinal members, an upstanding member centrally positioned on each longitudinal member,

a cross-piece interconnecting the lower ends of said upstanding members, said upstanding members forming a vertically disposed guide, an inverted U-shaped lift member having depending leg portions slidable in said guide, the bight portion of said lift member forming a lifting surface for engaging the undersurface of a casket, a U-shaped lift handle having leg portions pivotally attached to the upstanding members in spaced relation to the free ends thereof, a pair of lift arms pivotally interconnecting the ends of the leg portions of the lift handle to the sides of the U-shaped lift member, the pivotal connection between the lift arms and the lift member being vertically adjustable, and the pivotal connection between the lift arms and the lift handle being swingable over the pivotal connection between the handle and the upstanding members for raising and locking the lift members in vertically extending position, said handle having a bight portion for engaging the cross piece adjacent the base for limiting the movement of the handle and the swingable pivotal connection.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 297,255 Halbert Apr. 22, 1884 350,071 Morell Sept. 28, 1886 1,014,801 Beard Jan. 16, 1912 1,172,934 Bufiington Feb. 22, 1916 1,710,122 Sorenson Apr. 13, 1929 

